“I can only control what I can control” - Danielle Kelly has moved past razor-close loss to Mayssa Bastos in first encounter

Danielle Kelly reflected on her title-losing defeat against Mayssa Bastos.

Four months ago, Kelly suffered the most import and competitive setback of her submission grappling career. The American superstar failed to outperform Bastos at ONE Fight Night 24, leading to a unanimous decision loss.

Kelly initially disputed the result heavily before taking accountability. During an interview with ONE, the former atomweight women's submission grappling world champion had this to say about the disappointing defeat:

"You know, people have their opinions whether they think I got robbed or didn't. But, yeah, at the end of the day, I can only control what I can control, and I feel my takeaway from that match, [is that] I probably should have attacked more."

Before fighting Bastos, Kelly held a ONE Championship record of 3-0-1. The 29-year-old started with a draw against Mei Yamaguchi before rattling off wins against Mariia Molchanova (rear-naked choke), Ayaka Miura (unanimous decision), and Jessa Khan (unanimous decision).

As for Bastos, the Brazilian superstar defeated Kanae Yamada in her promotional debut in March. Following her win against Kelly, Bastos plans to take her resume to the next level by defeating the former world champion again.

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Danielle Kelly plans to become first two-time women's grappling world champion

On December 6, Danielle Kelly will receive an immediate rematch against Mayssa Bastos. The highly intriguing rematch is scheduled to take place at ONE Fight Night 26, which features Christian Lee defending his lightweight MMA world title against Alibeg Rasulov in the main event.

Kelly made history when she defeated Jessa Khan to become the first women's submission grappling world champion. She now has an opportunity to etch her name into the record books once again by becoming a two-time title-holder.

On the contrary, Bastos plans to leave no doubt that she's the best women's atomweight grappler on the planet. Kelly's dispute with their first match result has given her added motivation to emerge victorious for a second time.

ONE Fight Night 26 can be seen live and for free by North American and Canadian viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription. Friday's event will take place inside the legendary Lumpinne Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.